Superhero movies come in all shapes and sizes these days. From gigantic blockbusters with astronomical budgets to small-scale family films primarily designed to entertain younger audiences for an hour and a half. Clash of the Thundermans clearly belongs to the latter category. However, this movie already started at a slight disadvantage for me personally. I had simply never heard of The Thundermans before.
That does not necessarily say anything about the quality of the film, of course, but it does raise an important question: do you need to be familiar with the world of The Thundermans to properly follow Clash of the Thundermans?
What Exactly Is The Thundermans?
For those who, like me, had never encountered this family of superheroes before: The Thundermans originally started as an American Nickelodeon television series that managed to reach a young audience for several years. The series revolves around a family in which almost everyone possesses superpowers, while everyday family life is just as important as saving the world.
Over the years, The Thundermans has grown into a franchise with multiple seasons and previous movie productions. Clash of the Thundermans clearly builds upon that existing world and makes little effort to explain everything from the beginning.
That does not mean new viewers will be completely lost. The story is simple enough to understand what is happening, but the large number of characters can make it difficult to immediately tell everyone apart. Existing fans will probably have no problem with this, but newcomers may occasionally have to stop and think about who exactly is who.
It certainly helps to be somewhat familiar with The Thundermans before watching this movie. Not because the story would otherwise be impossible to follow, but because the film assumes that certain characters, relationships and superpowers are already familiar to the audience.
Clash of the Thundermans Is Clearly Aimed at Younger Viewers
The movie is unmistakably aimed at children and young teenagers. Everything is exaggerated, the humor is straightforward and the characters often behave far more childishly than their ages would suggest.
For the intended audience, that may work perfectly fine. Not every family movie needs to be complicated, dark or particularly deep. The problem is that Clash of the Thundermans sometimes plays things so safely that very little remains that is genuinely interesting or exciting.
The film seems determined to prevent young viewers from ever feeling uncomfortable. As a result, there is hardly any genuinely threatening conflict, while mystery and suspense are almost completely absent. You constantly get the feeling that the movie was made with the handbrake firmly on.
That makes the entire experience feel particularly superficial.
The Laugh Track Makes Clash of the Thundermans Feel Like a Long TV Episode
One of the strangest choices in Clash of the Thundermans is the use of a laugh track. Of course, it fits with the television roots of the franchise, but it still feels rather strange in a movie.
In fact, it ensures that Clash of the Thundermans barely feels like an actual movie. Instead, it often feels like watching an extra-long episode of a television series.
That feeling is reinforced by the fact that the film offers very little visually that goes beyond television standards. There is hardly any major spectacle, impressive action or cinematography that clearly rises above the level of a TV production. Everything remains relatively small-scale and contained.
On the other hand, the low budget is not entirely a negative either. Clash of the Thundermans was clearly made for next to nothing, but that somehow also contributes to the film's somewhat cheap, colorful and exaggerated style. It fits the world in which these characters live, even when it is not always particularly impressive to look at.
Plenty of Characters, but Few Distinct Personalities
For new viewers, the large number of characters is probably one of the biggest obstacles. There are quite a few members of the Thundermans family and other familiar faces running around, but it is not always easy to remember exactly who everyone is.
That is not simply because there are so many of them. The characters themselves do not always have particularly strong or distinctive personalities either. More often than not, they seem to be defined by one or two extremely exaggerated character traits.
One character may be overly enthusiastic, while another is primarily arrogant, insecure or childish. That occasionally results in recognizable sitcom humor, but it does not necessarily make the characters more interesting.
Their superpowers do not always help distinguish them from one another either. The functions and limitations of certain powers remain rather unclear at times, and the movie does not always make it obvious why a particular ability can or cannot be used in a specific situation.
For fans who have known this world for years, that will probably be less of an issue. For a new viewer, however, it can sometimes feel like walking into the middle of an already established television series.
No Strong Conflict Means No Real Suspense
Perhaps the biggest problem with Clash of the Thundermans is its lack of a strong central conflict. A movie does not necessarily need to revolve around a world-threatening villain or an enormous disaster, but there should at least be something at stake.
For the most part, that is missing here.
As a result, there is very little suspense, mystery or genuine curiosity about what is going to happen next. The movie is clearly afraid of scaring its young audience by making the conflict too serious or too intense.
That is understandable to a certain extent, but it also ensures that the viewing experience remains incredibly superficial. Everything is resolved relatively quickly and safely, without the audience ever really getting the feeling that something could go seriously wrong.
That may be reassuring for younger children, but children are perfectly capable of handling a little suspense. In fact, that is exactly what could have made Clash of the Thundermans considerably more interesting.
Can Children Actually Learn Anything From Clash of the Thundermans?
Like many family movies, there are naturally themes involving family, friendship and getting along with others that could potentially teach children something. At least in theory.
In practice, however, I strongly question that when it comes to Clash of the Thundermans.
The themes are neither particularly clear nor strongly developed, and they regularly disappear into the background because of the exaggerated humor and the constantly childish behavior of the characters. On top of that, the characters are not always particularly easy for the young target audience to relate to because of their ages.
As a result, younger children may not always be able to identify with the situations the characters find themselves in.
That is particularly noticeable because virtually all of the characters have extremely childish personalities. They often behave much younger than they actually are, which sometimes makes the movie seem unsure whether it wants to be a show for children or a story about older teenagers and young adults.
A clear and well-developed message is therefore missing. There are certainly lessons that can be taken from the events in the movie, but Clash of the Thundermans makes little effort to make those lessons genuinely meaningful.
Clash of the Thundermans Review – Probably More Fun for Fans Than Newcomers
Ultimately, Clash of the Thundermans is probably exactly what existing fans of the franchise would expect. The movie does not attempt to reinvent The Thundermans and instead seems primarily intended as another adventure for its established audience.
For me, as a complete newcomer, that worked less well.
The large number of characters, the lack of a strong conflict and the limited amount of spectacle ensure that the movie rarely rises above the level of an extended television episode. The use of a laugh track only strengthens that feeling.
Still, the film is not completely without charm. The low budget somehow contributes to its exaggerated and colorful style, and for the right young audience, this movie will undoubtedly still work perfectly well. Children who are already fans of The Thundermans will probably get much more enjoyment out of seeing familiar characters return and experiencing their typical brand of humor.
However, anyone who, like me, enters Clash of the Thundermans without any prior knowledge will mostly be treated to a safe, simple and superficial family movie that does very little to convince new viewers to become invested in this franchise.
Rating: 5/10
